A police officer in Alabama accused of slamming a 59-year-old visitor from India to the ground, causing partial paralysis to the man, entered a not guilty plea in court Tuesday.
Eric Parker, 26, has been charged with third degree assault, a Class A misdemeanor. He waived arraignment, according to Limestone County court documents.
CNN reached out to Parker’s attorney, Robert Tuten, for comment, but didn’t get an immediate response. Parker paid a $1,000 bail last week and was released from jail.
Sureshbhai Patel needed spinal fusion surgery to repair damage to his back after Parker forced him to the ground. Video from the dash cameras of two police cars recorded the encounter, which took place the morning of February 6.
Patel was walking through a neighborhood in Madison when Parker and another officer answered a call about a suspicious man.
When police responded, there was a language barrier. Patel, who is helping take care of his developmentally delayed 17-month-old grandson, speaks little English.
A police statement said Patel was taken to the ground after officers attempted to pat the subject down and he attempted to pull away.
An attorney for the Patel family said Tuesday the grandfather was transferred to a rehabilitation facility on Monday.
“He has a long, difficult and uncertain rehabilitation process ahead of him,” Hank Sherrod wrote in an email to CNN.
Also Tuesday, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley sent a letter to the Atlanta-based Counsel General of India.
“I deeply regret the unfortunate use of excessive force by the Madison Police Department,” Bentley wrote. “I wish to assure you and the government of India that we will see that justice is done.”
A trial by judge is scheduled for April 29.
